🔗 Share this article 'He was a joy': Reflecting on snooker's lost great a score of years on. The snooker star won The Masters on three occasions during a short but glittering career. All the young snooker player ever wanted to do was practice the game. A love for the game, developed at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in the city of Leeds, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him claim half a dozen major wins in a six-year span. Now marks two decades since the adored Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his 28th birthday. But notwithstanding the loss of a generational talent that rose above the game he loved, his legacy and impact on the game and those who were close to him endure as strong as ever. 'He just loved it': The Formative Years "We'd never have known in a million years the boy would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum recalls. "Yet he just loved it." His dad remembers how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" other than snooker as a youth. "He was relentless," he adds. "He would play every night after school." Beginning young: Hunter was acquainted with snooker from the very young age. After persistently asking his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the transition from table top snooker with aplomb. His mercurial talent would be developed by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now defunct club in the area of Yeadon. Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory With his family's urging to do his homework regularly going unheeded as practice took priority, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully focus on carving out a career in the game. It paid off in spades. Within half a decade, their young son had won his first ranking title, the late-nineties Welsh championship. Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter triumphed three times, in consecutive years. 'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never faded. "He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody." "When encountering him you'd like him," Kristina states. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you relaxed." Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "always the last to leave the party". With his effortless appeal, boyish good looks and honest interview style, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era. No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'The Beckham of the Baize'. Facing Adversity: His Final Years In 2005, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy. Multiple stories from across the snooker circuit highlight the man's extraordinary willingness to honor obligations to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while going through treatment. Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The Crucible Theatre when he competed in the World Championships that year. When he succumbed in autumn 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its cherished personalities. "It is tragic," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to go through that pain." An Enduring Legacy: Inspiring Youth Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in palaces and castles but in local sports centers across the UK. The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to young people all over the country. The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas plummeted. "The goal was for a scheme to help offer a constructive activity," one coach said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a significant coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children globally. "It would have thrilled him what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a leading figure in the sport stated. Always Remembered: A Lasting Presence Classic footage of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "connected to him". "I can access it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be spoken of." Even though he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's greatest prize is a part of the sport's history. The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, begins later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy. But for all his achievements, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is never forgotten.
The snooker star won The Masters on three occasions during a short but glittering career. All the young snooker player ever wanted to do was practice the game. A love for the game, developed at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in the city of Leeds, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him claim half a dozen major wins in a six-year span. Now marks two decades since the adored Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his 28th birthday. But notwithstanding the loss of a generational talent that rose above the game he loved, his legacy and impact on the game and those who were close to him endure as strong as ever. 'He just loved it': The Formative Years "We'd never have known in a million years the boy would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum recalls. "Yet he just loved it." His dad remembers how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" other than snooker as a youth. "He was relentless," he adds. "He would play every night after school." Beginning young: Hunter was acquainted with snooker from the very young age. After persistently asking his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the transition from table top snooker with aplomb. His mercurial talent would be developed by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now defunct club in the area of Yeadon. Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory With his family's urging to do his homework regularly going unheeded as practice took priority, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully focus on carving out a career in the game. It paid off in spades. Within half a decade, their young son had won his first ranking title, the late-nineties Welsh championship. Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter triumphed three times, in consecutive years. 'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never faded. "He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody." "When encountering him you'd like him," Kristina states. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you relaxed." Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "always the last to leave the party". With his effortless appeal, boyish good looks and honest interview style, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era. No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'The Beckham of the Baize'. Facing Adversity: His Final Years In 2005, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy. Multiple stories from across the snooker circuit highlight the man's extraordinary willingness to honor obligations to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while going through treatment. Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The Crucible Theatre when he competed in the World Championships that year. When he succumbed in autumn 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its cherished personalities. "It is tragic," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to go through that pain." An Enduring Legacy: Inspiring Youth Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in palaces and castles but in local sports centers across the UK. The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to young people all over the country. The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas plummeted. "The goal was for a scheme to help offer a constructive activity," one coach said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a significant coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children globally. "It would have thrilled him what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a leading figure in the sport stated. Always Remembered: A Lasting Presence Classic footage of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "connected to him". "I can access it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be spoken of." Even though he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's greatest prize is a part of the sport's history. The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, begins later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy. But for all his achievements, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is never forgotten.